We have been focused on a series called: Having a Biblical Worldview that deals with the secular or unbiblical perceptions that the masses of this world have readily adopted as a way to live one's life. The problem of godlessness is so rampant that we are witnessing the world around us boasting in their wickedness openly; and just as alarming for us here in America is that our Christian nation has become very anti-Christian in its views as well. Today we will continue in this series titled: "Truths that can't be disputed." Here's a notable statement: God's promises follow...when we follow God's instructions. It's true as someone once said, "When we were kids the small decisions we made had small consequences; but when we got bigger, so did the choices and the consequences." Today we will draw on some absolute truths extracted from the Ten Commandments as we conclude this teaching dealing with having a biblical worldview from these last four commandments that God wrote with His very own finger upon stone tablets. These are intended to give us a guilt-free life of fulfillment and freedom in Christ; this is not to suggest of keeping the Law in order to be righteous. Are you ready?
We will begin with commandment number seven: Thou shall not commit adultery. In a world that is very confused about this topic we pose the question: What exactly does this mean? Basically this means to have sex with someone else besides your spouse; and fornication is having sex before marriage for the most part, although it can be referenced to idols as well. Therefore, this speaks more specifically of immorality in general and not merely just unfaithfulness on the part of a marital partner. We need to remember that these Ten Commandments are God's divine standards for mankind to which He wrote personally. They are important to Him and as believers and children of God they ought to be important to us as well. Once again, they are not to be perceived as making us righteous nor can they ever, but rather they describe to us clearly how to live them out through Jesus Christ's own fulfillment of them when He is given our lives to live through. Imagine just how different our world would be if we were to have obeyed this one commandment. Imagine:
· How many divorces would have been avoided?
· How many families would still be together?
· And how many father's or mother's would still be at home to raise their children?
We should not modernize our views on the subject of adultery because of this cultures distorted perspectives on what sex is. Sadly, sex is rarely a topic taught in the church today. Why? It is because the secular cultures of our day has taken this very topic of sex and have poured out their own meaning to it. They have even redefined how we as Christians view it, and because of this we have lost control of this subject on sex altogether. They propose that the Christian's view on sex is for procreation only; and anything more is considered dirty and very naughty. But I stand to object that opinion on the Christian view of sex. Sex is not sinful or evil in of itself. There is nothing wrong with sex; in fact, we wouldn't be here if it weren't for sex. Guess who created sex? God did! There needs to be no shame connected to it, if it is done God's way. What is God's way you might ask? It is a marriage between one man and one woman. What about living together? No! That's not God's way.
God's way is without any variations from being one man and one woman in a marriage where there can be safety, and where sex can be blessed by God. In marriage God's way, sex is blessed and enjoyable and fulfilling. Outside of marriage it is harmful, damaging and destructive. Look at what the New Testament teaches us in this "age of grace" to which we boast adamatly of our freedoms:
Hebrews 13:4 (NLT)
4 Give honor to marriage, and remain faithful to one another in marriage. God will surely judge people who are immoral and those who commit adultery.
It appears from this passage that people whether believers or nonbelievers, are still held accountable to God's Law of morality, no excuses. The marriage bed should be kept in all purity. This is why there is no such thing as a one night fling. We have all heard things like this, "Oh honey, she didn't mean anything to me" after the husband is caught having an affair. Sex is not some casual toy that you offer to play with everyone in the neighborhood. It's a gift from God reserved for the person you want become one with for the rest of your life. When you engage in sexual contact with another person you become one with them. The bible teaches this...
1 Corinthians 6:15-18 (NLT)
15 Don't you realize that your bodies are actually parts of Christ? Should a man take his body, which is part of Christ, and join it to a prostitute? Never!
16 And don't you realize that if a man joins himself to a prostitute, he becomes one body with her? For the Scriptures say, "The two are united into one."
17 But the person who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him.
18 Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body.
You become one with a person you have sex with according to Scripture. In a marriage this is a great thing, because you want to become "one" with that person to whom you have given your heart; even children will possibly come out of that expression of love and oneness. But we have all heard someone boast that sex doesn't hurt anyone. I beg to differ. I think it hurts a lot of people. It hurts you as a person and it damages you spiritually. Sex outside of marriage can even cause deep depression as studies have proven. It doesn't hurt anyone you say! What about teenage pregnancy?
· Every year 1 million teens become pregnant. Many of these pregnancies never make it full term. One out of every five abortions is performed on a woman under the age of twenty.
· Four out of every ten teenage pregnancies end up in abortion. In other words, four hundred thousand of the 1.6 million abortions occurring annually are done on teenage mothers. Doesn't hurt anyone?
· What about the mother that carries the shame and guilt throughout her life for aborting and taking the life of her baby? Doesn't hurt anyone?
· What about the baby that is never given the privilege of living out their life? Who really can fathom what some of these babies might have accomplished in this world for the good of all as a gift from God to us.
This is why the Bible warns about this sin. It's because it does hurt; and it does bring about spiritual devastation. I know by statistics that there are possibly someone that may be reading this article that is contemplating or even quite possibly already in an actual affair. It's possible that there is someone who is just playing with the idea through mental games fantasizing what it would be like to be with this or that person over there. Let me give you some quick reasons why you shouldn't commit the sin of adultery.
1. You do incredible damage to your spouse. First, I will point out that you violate that sacred oneness with your spouse which is why God actually gave a release clause in the marriage in the event when there has been sexual unfaithfulness. This is a big deal to God and it should be a big deal to us as well. With this being said let me further add this if I may in light of the clause mentioned: Adultery is not only grounds for divorce, but it is also grounds for forgiveness. And I hope the latter would be the steps that are taken in the marriage that has suffered the blow of an unfaithful partner. But I must warn you: even if forgiveness is extended by the betrayed spouse the trust factor is almost destroyed and it will take years to recover it again in most cases.
2. You do incredible damage to yourself. Most adulteress affairs occur among co-workers. It develops into habitual deception and lying and the hardening of ones heart. When you are in an adulteress relationship you are in a backslidden state. You may go to church on Sunday and possibly read your bible and even pray somewhat...but you have worked out a way to live with yourself by compartmentalizing this sin. It's like, I know this is wrong, but I'm over here with my family right now and in church and everything is working out just fine. I can manage this and keep what I have. Wrong! Yet you fail to recognize that you are damaging your own soul.
3. You do incredible damage to your children. Your spiritual leadership in your home is undermined by your own hand. Their trust in you is shattered as it is with your spouse and it will take years to regain. Worse, they may even repeat your sin later in their life. It's when you say things like, "Well my kids forgave me, my spouse forgave me...man, I dodged a bullet." Hold on there Poncho! Life is still unfolding. The sin may come home to roost ten years from today when your children engage in the same activity. And when you wave your finger to reprimand them they will remind you that you did it too! King David saw his own sins repeated in his children. His son Ammnon raped his half sister Temar; his son Absalom killed Ammnon for the act he committed against his sister. So, David witnessed his sins repeated in his own children.
4. You do great damage to the church. The Scriptures teach us that when one member of the body suffers we all suffer; just as when one rejoices we all rejoice together as one body. When one of us has a victory we all rejoice in that victory...just as when one of us crashes and burns we all experience the same reproach from the world for the hypocrisy they witness in one of our members.
5. You do great damage to your witness and the cause of Christ. Nonbelievers will call you out for your hypocrisy. It's a hit you will have to take. Remember the prophet Nathan that came to David after he had fallen into sin with Bathsheba? He said, because of what you have done you have given the enemies of God opportunities to blasphemy. The church today has a poor reputation in the eyes of the world because of our blatent sins that we have been caught in.
6. You sin against the Lord Himself. This should be the primary reason that we don't commit adultery. Yet, it is the last thing most think about when it comes to an adulteress affair. Remember Joseph? The bible goes out of its way to point out that he was a good looking boy. He was handsome, and he was well-built. Potiphar's wife who was no doubt very attractive was hitting on Joseph. Yet, he resisted her advances and here is what he recorded as saying in Scripture, "How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?" Did you hear that, his motive for resisting her advances was that he did not want to sin against his God. Wow! I doubt that this is in the thoughts of someone thinking about having an affair. To which now brings us to commandment number eight: You shall not steal.
Stealing is so widespread in our culture today. I remember a day when I was young boy that we rarely locked our doors or windows when we went somewhere or slept at night. It just wasn't that big of a problem in those days. But today it is a different story.
- Things are bad when we pull up to a gas station and the cashier sits behind a bullet proof glass window.
- Commercial vehicles that post signs on the outside that read: No Money in the Safe. Is a sign of a theft problem.
- Nearly every car on the road has an alarm system of some sort.
- We have security signs outside our homes and even signs that warn a would-be thief that there is a guard dog inside (when really it's probably just a Chihuahua).
A poll was taken among people and they were asked, "What was the reason they would not steal?" Do you know the number one answer was...
- I might get caught. (How about it's wrong to steal!)
- The other person I stole from might try to get even and steal something from me.
- I might not really need the item. (What!)
God thought enough about theft to include it in His top ten commandments. Let's look at a few passages and learn what God has to say about stealing in this "age of grace" that we now live in.
Ephesians 4:28 (NLT)
28 If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need.
Notice it says if you have stolen steal no longer. We should never take anything from someone else. Remember the story of Zaccheus the tax collector? He made restitution by returning four times what he stole. That is what you call real repentance. This passage also points out that we do something useful...like get a job and work for a living.
Here's a news flash for you: The world does not owe you anything; and the government doesn't owe you a living, and your parents don't owe you a living either. Get off the couch and go to work so you can help others in need.
2 Thessalonians 3:10 (NLT)
10 Even while we were with you, we gave you this command: "Those unwilling to work will not get to eat."
We should be a people who share from the labors of our own hands. Sharing is the very opposite of stealing. We need to be able to work to provide for our families and help those who are in real need. Another area that we need to quit stealing in is when we rob God of what belongs to Him in our tithes and offerings. On that note we will move on to our next commandment #9: Thou shall not bear false witness. This is a old way of saying stop lying!
Abraham Lincoln once said, "No man has a good enough memory to be a successful liar." How true!
Truthfulness is part of the Ten Commandments. We are to speak the truth in love without getting caught up in our own web of deceit. God hates lying! Why? It is because lying is so destructive. We find this out in Proverbs.
Proverbs 6:16-19 (NLT)
16 There are six things the Lord hates- no, seven things he detests:
17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that kill the innocent,
18 a heart that plots evil, feet that race to do wrong,
19 a false witness who pours out lies, a person who sows discord in a family.
When we lie we act more like the child of the devil than a child of God.
John 8:44 (NLT)
44 For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.
You see God thinks so much about "truth" that He describes Himself with that very word.
John 14:6 (NLT)
6 Jesus told him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.
And then God puts an exclamation mark on it with this passage...
Hebrews 6:18 (NLT)
18 So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie...
God cares a lot about telling the truth. When we engage in habitual lying and deception we are behaving like a child of the devil. Here is what you need to consider: you may lie more than you really realize. A question was posed to some folks randomly, "Why do people lie?" The number one answer was that they did it because they didn't want to offend someone. I understand that, I really do. Telling the truth is not always easy to do...for instance:
· A person invites you over for dinner and you take two bites and throw up in your mouth. Yeah, it was beyond terrible. When they ask you if you enjoyed the meal you offer a statement like, "I don't think I have ever tasted anything like this in my life."
· Another example we could use: is someone offers to sing for you to which you notice is terrible and horrific to say the least. When they ask you what you think you tell them something like: "That was the most fascinating thing I have ever heard in all my life." We don't want to tell them the truth. Why? It is because we would rather lie than tell the truth that might possibly rub someone the wrong way or offend them.
· Let me offer you a few more...Someone asks you about something that you didn't want to do and you tell them, "Oh, I forgot"...when you didn't! Or how about, it's good to see you...when it isn't. Or, I sure do like that outfit...when you don't. Maybe some of you are thinking well I don't say things like that so I don't tell lies...well wait a second.
· The checks in the mail...when it isn't. I was just getting ready to call you...when you weren't. I had no idea...when you did. I will be praying for you (or worse) I have been praying for you...when you won't and when you haven't.
Those are lies. Here is another way to tell a lie; through gossip and backbiting. What is gossip? It's a lie with a spin on it. It's partially true which makes it believable, but it's mixed with a lie. Another way to lie is through flattery. Through exaggeration we make things bigger than they really are. We also commit the sin of lying when we remain silent as one person is speaking a lie against someone else and you know it's not the truth but you remain quiet. God does not like a lying tongue in whatever form it is delivered through a false witness.
Finally this brings us to commandment number ten: Thou shall not covet. This is a tricky one because the other commandments address the outward, whereas, coveting deals with the inner part of man. The apostle Paul seemed to imply in his writings that he kept pretty much the first nine commandments for the most part faithfully, but this tenth commandment was one that he struggled with. The reason, is because coveting dealt with the intent of the heart. Therefore, what does it mean to covet? Here's what it doesn't mean: it's not wrong to see something you like and wish you had it (ie; an outfit you saw in a mall, or a nice car that you really like). Here is what it does mean:
Exodus 20:17 (NLT)
17 "You must not covet your neighbor's house. You must not covet your neighbor's wife, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor."
I doubt you have ever coveted your neighbor's donkey, but you might have coveted his wife or her husband. The point is when we want what belongs to another person; we are coveting what we never have a right to. The Greek word for covet is where we get our word lust. It's the idea of panting hard after something. It would be the same as a hungry dog at feeding time. In the morning when you break out his dish to feed him he would nearly take off your arm if you got in between his food and his mouth. Lust is a strong desire within us that craves for what does not belong to us. This is what coveting is. It is the removal of boundaries that should respect what belongs to another man and his possessions. Let's look at another New Testament passage that clearly deals with this though we are in the "age of grace." Grace in its proper understanding can never be a reason for ignoring what we are told to obey in Scripture. Jesus did say, "If you love me, keep my commandments." Look what each od us should watch out for in our own lives:
James 1:14-15 (NLT)
14 Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away.
15 These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.
In closing let me ask you a question. Have you ever committed an act of adultery? Have you ever stolen? Have you ever told a lie? My friends we have all broken the Ten Commandments at some point pretty consistently. These commandments can never make us righteous through the intent of keeping them for that reason alone. These commandments in our human condition cannot be upheld perfectly as humans. Therefore, the Ten Commandments and others like them that are found in the bible were given so as to send us into the open arms of Jesus where we can experience our help. It is here that we can surrender our wretched life of performances and completely allow Jesus to live in us victoriously who always keeps the commands of the Father.
The story of the woman caught in adultery expresses this beautifully. The Law and her accusers said she should be stoned! I love this story as I imagine what Jesus did as He stooped down and began to write with His finger in the sand (didn't God the Father do that as well but on tablets of stone?). I'm uncertain as to what Jesus actually wrote in the sand (the Scriptures don't tell us), but it wouldn't surprise me if it were not the Ten Commandments; especially as we see Him through the depiction that this story reveals. I can picture Him looking up at the different one's with rock in hand who were accusing this woman; and it was here that He would start writing their names under the Commandments that they might have broken. As Scripture teaches, breaking one is breaking all of them. No wonder they dropped their stones and walked away. We are all guilty in the presence of God if we show up as an accuser of others, or praying such religious things as, "Lord, I am so glad that I am not like these other men." That is such a pitiful self-centered person that would make such a statement. Our need for Him should have us running into His arms as we look into the impossibility of being righteous apart from Him.
These things that we have been covering in this series are not popular to talk about in this politically correct culture that we live in. Our worldviews need to take a radical turn back to our Christian roots, otherwise "Truth" will continue to be lost and the world will become even darker than it already is. We are bearers of the Light and the Truth always shines forth that the lives of others might find their way home. Amen!
Matthew 4:16 (HCSB)
16 The people who live in darkness have seen a great light, and for those living in the shadowland of death, light has dawned.
